Jean de Brébeuf (March 25, 1593 – March 16, 1649)

I do not wish to speak ill of the dead, but it seems to me that this Jesuit priest tried and failed to bring peace to the Huron and the Iroquois. Ancient enmity is not easily pacified. Sometimes the price is too high. Sometimes it can cost you your life.

Originally, I allowed this birth chart to be randomized, and then realized that by changing the PM to AM, I could rectify the timing, to demonstrate the age (24) when Brébeuf became a Jesuit (Saturn in Cancer). The resulting conjunction between his Ascendant, Mars and Jupiter in Capricorn encapsulates Brébeuf’s attitude and drive. And having the Sun and Pluto conjunct in Aries, would mean that he would not stop until he achieved his goals. The Moon and Venus in Taurus (widely conjunct) in opposition to his Midheaven in Scorpio, is symbolic of the Iroquois nation. Their ‘old ways’ were best, for them.

This ‘death’ chart is accurate in timing, as reported by eye-witnesses to Brébeuf’s torturous end. (One niggle: how did the escaping Huron know the exact time?) Even so, the Moon in Virgo, conjunct the ‘fatal’ Ascendant agrees with my assessment above. In truth, though, the ‘fatal’ Mars in Leo would better reflect his true death time of fifty minutes earlier. The resulting T-squares lock in the idea that this was totally outside Brébeuf’s control. He was but a helpless pawn in this never-ending game of the Iroquois totally wiping out the Huron in Huronia.

Conclusion

As one of the written reports of this martyrdom has pointed out, the Jesuits could have withdrawn back to Quebec until the Indian war was over, but that was not Brébeuf’s way. He was determined to stand firm with his Huron friends, even if it killed him. He got his wish.